Childbirth at Duke Regional Hospital

Having a baby is one of the most important milestones in your family’s life. Choosing where you give birth is an equally important decision. Duke Regional Hospital provides a personalized birth experience in a safe, comfortable environment. Our staff delivers more than 2,000 babies each year. We consider it our job to work closely with you to make sure you have the birth experience you choose.

Having your baby at Duke Regional Hospital

As a community hospital, we offer both high tech and low tech care. Because we work primarily with women who expect to have routine deliveries, we offer you the opportunity to have a birthing experience with fewer interventions and procedures and more non-medical amenities. We want to help you be as comfortable as possible during your labor.

Once your baby arrives, we help you start that bonding process right away by having you room-in with your baby. If your baby needs special care, your baby may stay in our special care nursery, where our expert neonatologists care for preterm babies as well as full-term babies who need extra help. If you or your baby experiences complications, our relationship with Duke University Hospital gives you immediate access to the sophisticated care you or your baby may need.

During the postpartum process, you’ll recover in one of our private postpartum rooms, learn to breast feed from our lactation consultants, and work with our experienced nurses to begin your transition home with your new baby. You’ll find more details about each stage of your labor, delivery and postpartum recovery below.

Preparing for Your Baby’s Birth

Please tour our labor and delivery unit, and see why we earned Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Center for Excellence for Maternity Services. This distinction recognizes the high quality of our maternity care. We also offer the following classes to help you get ready for childbirth and to understand what to expect afterward. Our classes help you prepare for labor and delivery and C-sections and gain a better understanding about epidurals. We also prepare you for life as a new mom, with classes that focus on breastfeeding, baby care, infant/child CPR, tips for getting back in shape, and more.

Having your baby

We do everything we can to ensure you have your baby in a comfortable, safe and supportive environment. We offer:

A cozy setting. Our comfortable delivery suites are designed to make you feel you are home, as much as is possible in a hospital setting. Four of our eight birthing suites have whirlpool baths, complete with hydrotherapy relaxation, to help you manage your labor pain.

More freedom movement during labor. Our lightweight, cordless fetal monitors give you more freedom of movement and flexibility to find a comfortable position during your labor.

Available pain options. In addition to your obstetrician, our anesthesiologists are always in the hospital and available to you 24/7. We offer IV medicine and epidural, as well as non-medicine options such as birthing and peanut balls, birthing stools and pushing bars to help you be as comfortable as possible during your labor.

Midwives can assist in delivery. You can choose to work with a certified nurse midwife for your pregnancy care and assistance in your in normal labor and birth, and support you, your baby, and your family during your postpartum recovery.

Dedicated OR for C-sections. We have two dedicated ORs in our labor and delivery unit if you deliver your baby by cesarean section. We may be able to make small changes to the procedure to allow you and your partner to be part of the process through what some call a “gentle C-section.”

Your Postpartum Recovery

We offer prompt medical care during your postpartum recovery, help you jumpstart your mommy-baby bonding and support your transition from hospital to home. We offer:

24-hour rooming in. We want to help you bond with your baby as soon as possible. That’s why all healthy babies room stay with their healthy moms in one of our 36 private postpartum recovery rooms as part of our family-centered care. And, one nurse helps you ease your transition from hospital to home.

Recognized breastfeeding-friendly center. Our lactation consultants give you the support you need to begin breastfeeding within one hour of your newborn's birth, and continue after you leave the hospital. Their efforts to ensure your breastfeeding success has earned us recognition as a four-star NC Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Center.

Immediate access to specialized care. If your baby is delivered at less than 32 weeks gestation, requires surgery or a higher level of care, he or she will immediately be transported to the Level IV nursery at Duke University Hospital. Their board-certified neonatologists will ensure your baby gets the best possible care as quickly as possible.

Postpartum support. Our clinical social workers specialize in postpartum depression and are available to help you and your family locate community resources, and adapt to the many changes that accompany the arrival of a newborn.

Guided Tours

Sign up to take a guided tour of our unit as you prepare for your baby's delivery.